Simon, Sunless, and his classmates were already silent before Instructor Sormon spoke, but after his words, it was dead silent and one could hear a pin drop.
Death?
They could die in a class?
Weren’t they meant to be taught?
Weren’t they meant to be protected?
Even Simon was baffled by Instructor Sormon’s words since there was nothing about deaths in the information in his Grave Mark.
Instructor Sormon’s folded his arms as he stood on the cliff wall in a horizontal manner.
"The Vertical Mobility course is one of the core and most important courses in the academy. Because it’s so important and it’s directly related to the protection of the clan itself, the clan and academy does not treat this course lightly, and you’ll be taught brutally and with utmost seriousness."
Everybody’s expression changed, but the expressions of those who attended the Physical Training class and were not given the demon blood energy drink, their expressions were ugly and tears of regret and pain nearly fell from their eyes.
Why?
Because their bodies were in pain. Serious pain. They were also exhausted.
Without the demon energy drink which regained a demon’s stamina at a rapid rate and which also healed the aches and pains a demon incurs from physical training, the Initiates felt like sleeping for days.
In fact, some of the absent Initiates were those who attended the physical training class and could not move their bodies anymore.
’We’re so dead.’
’Fuck that bitch instructor.’
’I hate this school.’
These thoughts and many other thoughts were in the minds of the Initiatives who were still suffering from the brutal training of Instructor Emith.
A few seconds later, Instructor Sormon spoke once again.
"There are many things to teach when it comes to the Vertical Mobility class. The main goal of the class is to teach you how to comfortably fight on cliffs, ravines, and mountains. We want to make sure that all of you are used to fighting in the clan’s environment."
"Because there’s a lot to teach you, we’ll take the Vertical Mobility class step by step."
Instructor Sormon paused for a few seconds, took a glance at the Year One Initates, then he continued.
"Today, you’ll be taught three things."
"How to climb the cliff walls of the clan, how to run on the cliff walls, and how to properly leap from bridges to platforms, and vice-versa."
"This class is meant to take place for four hours. If you guys perform to a satisfied level, then I’ll end the class before the due time so that you guys can rest."
Although Instructor Sormon said this, majority of the class were no longer staring at their Instructor but at the massive cliff wall before them.
Normally, there would be buildings built with and inside the cliff walls, but there was nothing built in this part of the cliff wall.
A dreadful thought appeared in their minds, and one of Simon’s classmates raised his hand, requesting to speak.
Instructor Sormon looked at the girl. "Yes?"
The girl spoke. "Are we going to climb all the way to the top of the cliff?"
Instructor Sormon calmly shook his head.
"Not in the first class. It’s still too early to tell you guys to climb to the top of the cliff."
Everybody released a sigh of relief, but Instructor Sormon’s next words caused them to freeze.
"You’ll have to climb five hundred (500) feet of the cliff wall."
Even Simon could not help but stare at the Instructor in disbelief.
Five hundred (500) feet of the cliff wall was comparable to a 40-50 storey building.
And he wanted them to climb such a height?
"At every hundred feet of the cliff wall, you’ll all have a place to rest, but you’ll only have two hours to reach five hundred feet of the cliff."
"You can also use your demonic energy to climb the cliff."
"I should also warn you, there are loose stones, stones that can shift and change their structure, and a fog would randomly appear as you climb the mountain."
"You’ll also be attacked at random times once you start climbing the cliff wall."
One of the Initiates could not help but exclaim.
"Attacked?"
Instructor Sormon nodded. "Yes. Arrows would be fired at you. So, you’ll have to be careful and alert when you climb the cliff."
Another Initiate could also not help himself from complaining.
"But how is that fair? Some of us have never learned how to climb a mountain or a cliff before? Why would you attack us after telling us to climb an unreasonable height?"
Instructor Sormon indifferently glanced at the boy who spoke.
"I told you that this class has one of the highest death rates in the academy. Besides, all of you knew how brutal the Shadowgrave Clan and the Shadowgrave Academy is before you decided to apply and take the trials of the clan."
"So, why then are you complaining about our methods of teaching when it is the reason why the entire demon realm does not treat a Shadowgrave Clan member lightly?"
Everybody that was about to complain instantly became quiet.
They knew that Instructor Sormon was right.
They already knew just how dangerous the Shadowgrave Clan and Academy were, but they still wanted to attend for their personal reasons.
So why were they complaining now?
Well, because they never knew it was going to be this terrible.
Especially, those who attended the physical training class and were in the vertical mobility class.
But what could they do?
They couldn’t just leave or their lives would become far more difficult, and some knew that they might even die if they left.
They had no choice but to grit their teeth and persevere.
Instructor Sormon glanced at the children before him with a calm and indifferent gaze.
What he was not telling all of them was that there were Shadow Blades who were ready to protect their lives.
They were all treasured by the clan, and there was no way the clan would place them in situations where they could easily die.
However, there have been situations in the past where some Initiates died despite the precautions and presence of the Shadow Blades.
This was why he told them that the vertical mobility class had one of the highest death rates.
It was high, but not as high as many of them believed.
As for why he refused to tell them that they were actually going to be protected?
Because he needed the pressure to force them to grow quickly.